My Sea Hunt Forever Tanks are Ready...
- The hero of the Sea Hunt TV show, Mike Nelson, used single 72s, double 72s, and triple 44s... But he eventually settled on Twin 38s and that's the way I always remember him when I watched Sea Hunt back in the early 60s. My favorites were the round bottom tanks. AND I was fortunate to pick up an old set in deceptively good condition about 5 years ago (Sea Hunt Jerry told me, "You gotta Buy These Hog Tanks!") They looked like heck with rusty tank bands and dirty harness. I offered the guy $50 and he said "Cash?" So I took them home.
- They definitely were military surplus with the "USN Shatterproof" markings and 1940s dating. But to my happy surprise, the insides were literally rust free and the outside had been galvanized. The manifold was in good shape, too. After they passed the hydrotest, I cleaned them up, re-painted with Galvalite 96% zinc paint, and re-assembled them as you see here. (Harness by Allan is faded from 5 years of heavy use).
- My Recent Hydrotest required taking it all apart again. Insides are still pristine and passed hydro fine. But last night when I re-assembled the manifold, I had a leak on the reserve side. When the ball joints are clean, they usually seal just fine. So, I suspected the O-ring in the J-Valve. And sure enough, when I opened the J-valve up, the O-ring had extruded, hardened, and cracked... No wonder it leaked. At the same time, I discovered the J-valve spring was broken in the middle. So, in addition to replacing the O-ring, I replaced the spring as well as the seat (Thanks Captain) . So now, the J-valve should work like new... I just need to test it to be sure.
- This time re-assembly went without a hitch... No leaks. They look a little dirty and scratched up right now. I've thought of re-painting them but they may actually be more authentic this way. Anyway, my Sea Hunt Forever Tanks are ready for the show!

SurfLung
The Freedom and Simplicity of Vintage Equipment and
Vintage Diving Technique are Why I Got Back Into Diving.

Yes, the harness is one of mine. And, they are guaranteed to fade (just like the originals). Being made of cotton, the sun does a number on them. In fact, that is one of selling points, "if they don't fade like the originals, let me know, I might just replace them."

No Snarks... Mostly Voit!
- Being as true to the Sea Hunt TV Show as possible, cast members can't just dive "vintage"... The equipment has to be authentic to what was actually used in the TV Show... And there just isn't a single scene that anyone has found where a Snark III was used.
- The "official" regulators are the Voit Lung VR1/VR2 and the Voit 50 Fathom VCR2. The Voit NAVY was never used on the TV Show. Neither was the Polaris nor the blue plastic bodied 50 Fathom VCR2. As you can know, Voit regs are pretty rare on Ebay and when you find one its usually over $400 before you spend a bunch to restore it. So its quite a treat to see so many Voit Double Hose regulators diving together at Sea Hunt Forever.
- I say "Mostly Voit" in the title above because if you look closely at the underwater scenes, you will often see a USD regulator disguised as a Voit with gray hoses. You can tell because the label is rectangular. And in fact, the first episode has Mike Nelson diving a USD plastic bodied Jet Air.
- Why Voit? I think the original green hoses showed up better on black and white TV than the original USD black hoses. After that, I think Voit became an official supplier and the switch to gray hoses showed up even better on black and white TV screens. IMHO

The Sea Hunt Forever Show is part of the Florida Springs Fest on Saturday and Sunday, March 2-3, 2019. Our cast of about 20 divers will be re-enacting underwater scenes from the 1960s Sea Hunt TV Show. Visitors to the park can watch the underwater show from glass bottom boats.

SurfLung
The Freedom and Simplicity of Vintage Equipment and
Vintage Diving Technique are Why I Got Back Into Diving.

Sea Hunt Forever Equipment...
- Considering that we re-enact underwater knife fights,... And that Silver Springs Park management does not allow real knives,... And that we have to have FAKE knives that are authentic to the Sea Hunt TV Show... There are two knife styles that are prevalent: The military KABAR (because Mike Nelson was a former Navy Frogman) and a commercial knife which I think was called a Vulcan. Allan Klauda has actually made up rubber bladed replicas of the Vulcan. And, several of us have found a hard rubber replica of the KABAR from Cold Steel Co. (below).

SurfLung
The Freedom and Simplicity of Vintage Equipment and
Vintage Diving Technique are Why I Got Back Into Diving.

Sea Hunt Forever Equipment...
- The Smallest Details - The cast isn't actually required to wear a depth gauge... Simply because the ones that are correct for the Sea Hunt TV Show are just too rare much less do they still work. The Sportsways "dial" depth gauge is the best known gauge for appearing on Mike Nelson's wrist. This one (below) is a 150 ft model. Apparently the 75 ft model is more true to the show.
- You might ask, "What about those scenes where Mike Nelson is diving as deep as 180 feet?". Well, the truth is almost everything in the Sea Hunt show was filmed no deeper than 30 feet or less for the better lighting conditions. Silver springs is maximum 33 feet deep right at the bottom. They simulated depth by showing Mike Nelson swimming down over and over again from different angles. Sometimes when a scene shows divers swimming level, they might only be a few feet from the surface. Sometimes you can even see the surface in the background.
- The Sportsways gauge is a unique instrument. Notice that it has no needle. Instead, it has a face with a window in it. And behind the window a dial moves to indicate the depth.

The Sea Hunt Forever Show is part of the Florida Springs Fest on Saturday and Sunday, March 2-3, 2019. Our cast of about 20 divers will be re-enacting underwater scenes from the 1960s Sea Hunt TV Show. Visitors to the park can watch the underwater show from glass bottom boats.

SurfLung
The Freedom and Simplicity of Vintage Equipment and
Vintage Diving Technique are Why I Got Back Into Diving.

"The diver who collects specimens of underwater life has fun and becomes a keen underwater observer. .. seek slow-moving or attached organisms such as corals, starfish, or shelled creatures." (Golden Guide to Scuba Diving, 1968)

Sea Hunt Forever EquipmentThe Only DPV Scooter Allowed...
- The PortaSub divers scooter played a part in several Sea Hunt TV Episodes. Above is Sea Hunt Jerry Lang with his totally restored Voit PortaSub. Since these are awfully rare... especially in diving condition... We count ourselves lucky to have Jerry's PortaSub appearing in the SHF show.
- We may see two of them swimming together this year as I think Roger and Rob have finished restoring a second PortaSub and (I hope) they'll bring it to Sea Hunt Forever. Shown above in it's Voit blue and white colors, the PortaSub was also seen in plain white with just the black Porta-Sub lettering.

The Sea Hunt Forever Show is part of the Florida Springs Fest on Saturday and Sunday, March 2-3, 2019. Our cast of about 20 divers will be re-enacting underwater scenes from the 1960s Sea Hunt TV Show. Visitors to the park can watch the underwater show from glass bottom boats.

SurfLung
The Freedom and Simplicity of Vintage Equipment and
Vintage Diving Technique are Why I Got Back Into Diving.

Vintage Style Wet Suits...Sea Hunt Forever Divers wear 2-piece Wetsuits with front zippers and beaver tails.
- Pictured above is an Elios Sub Vintage Style wet suit that you can buy new. I have one and use it not only for Sea Hunt Forever shows, but also for my regular diving. Very nice suit that fits beautifully...

SurfLung
The Freedom and Simplicity of Vintage Equipment and
Vintage Diving Technique are Why I Got Back Into Diving.

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"The diver who collects specimens of underwater life has fun and becomes a keen underwater observer. .. seek slow-moving or attached organisms such as corals, starfish, or shelled creatures." (Golden Guide to Scuba Diving, 1968)

Here is a short video clip of divers entering the water at one of the previous Sea Hunt Forever events. Mark

"The diver who collects specimens of underwater life has fun and becomes a keen underwater observer. .. seek slow-moving or attached organisms such as corals, starfish, or shelled creatures." (Golden Guide to Scuba Diving, 1968)

"The diver who collects specimens of underwater life has fun and becomes a keen underwater observer. .. seek slow-moving or attached organisms such as corals, starfish, or shelled creatures." (Golden Guide to Scuba Diving, 1968)

"The diver who collects specimens of underwater life has fun and becomes a keen underwater observer. .. seek slow-moving or attached organisms such as corals, starfish, or shelled creatures." (Golden Guide to Scuba Diving, 1968)

I have a handful of patches left over, free to any VDH member. Offering them here only. One per person.

Email me at [email protected] with your USPS mailing address and I'll send you one until supplies are gone.

Mark

"The diver who collects specimens of underwater life has fun and becomes a keen underwater observer. .. seek slow-moving or attached organisms such as corals, starfish, or shelled creatures." (Golden Guide to Scuba Diving, 1968)